Harry Potter and the Human Snitch
by Just-Like-Ginny
Summary: The battle of Hogwarts is over, and Harry can finally put the pieces of his life back together.


Harry awoke softly to the faint sound of voices. The dormitory was empty now, and Harry assumed that his friends had let him sleep in. He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes and groping for his glasses on the table beside his old Gryffindor bed. After placing his lenses over his eyes, Harry's hand naturally made its way to his scar. For what seemed like the first time in his life, he felt nothing within the skin of his forehead.

It was odd—nothing. Over the years, he had grown used to the slight stinging, only reacting when it grew to the point of taking over all his senses. He hadn't even noticed that this scar constantly ached while Voldemort's life continued, even when he was not near or angry. But now, he felt absolutely nothing from the scar. It was a relief, yet he felt as if a part of him was gone. That feeling scared him most of all.

Harry stood from his bed and made his way toward Gryffindor's common room, dreading the deathly silence that was sure to occur once his presence was noticed. The voices grew louder as he drew closer to the door. After finally reaching the door, he took a deep breath and pulled the door open, hoping nobody would notice he was entering.

As he had expected, all the eyes in the room turned his way as the door opened. Spotting his face, the crowd grew silent, just staring at the boy who had, once again, lived through the killing curse—the boy who had defeated the most horrid wizard the world had ever seen—the boy who, more than anything, just wanted to be like everybody else.

Harry scanned the room as the group slowly fell back into their conversations. The four eldest Weasleys stood in the center of the room, speaking quietly with most of the remaining order members. Luna and Dean were standing several feet away from Neville, laughing at the admirers still surrounding him. Ron and Hermione sat on a couch in a corner, talking. In another corner, Ginny was talking to Percy, who wore a blank face, as if nothing his sister was saying had any affect on him.

Harry looked around the room for George, but couldn't find him. He finally found Lee Jordan sitting on the ground, periodically glancing at a door that Harry could only assume George had disappeared through at some point.

Slowly, Harry walked toward Ginny's and Percy's corner. He knew that now was not the time to get her alone, but hoped that he could help her in comforting Percy. Once he was only feet away, he finally could hear bits of what Ginny was saying to her brother. "—nothing you could do. Nobody saw it coming. I know you wish you could have thrown yourself under the explosion instead, but you can't—"

"I'm sure Fred would have wished the same thing." Startled, Ginny looked up at Harry, her eyes scolding him for his comment. Percy, on the other hand, allowed a small grin to form in the corner of his lips. "You gave him his last laugh, Percy. I'm sure it's just how he would have wanted to go." Percy stood and walked off, giving little more than a nod to Harry, who silently took his place next to Ginny.

"How is it," Ginny began, staring down at Harry's seat, "that I spent over an hour trying to talk some sense into him, and you come over here and can make him well enough to act like a human in two sentences?" She looked up into his eyes as she finished.

Harry shrugged. "I guess I've just had a bit more experience in dealing with death. Hell, last night I had to cope with the fact that my own was only moments away," he added, regretting it the moment he did.

"What are you talking about?" She looked up at him with pure worry covering her face now. "Neville said you told him you weren't going to—"

"I lied." Ginny's eyes shot open in shock and her jaw dropped. She was about to start yelling at him, he knew. He quickly grabbed her hand, and stood her up. "Ginny, can we go somewhere else to talk about this?"

Ginny took a breath and looked around the room. The people nearby were starting to look over, trying to discover what they were discussing. She silently nodded and allowed Harry to guide her out of the Gryffindor common room.

Ginny walked silently behind Harry, waiting for him to be ready to talk. She did not want to push him, but she studied him as they walked, waiting to discover where they were going.

Harry stopped in front of a glass showcase, still in tact despite the war fought within the school. "It's funny," he stared into the glass at a plaque he had stared at so many times before, "how I knew nothing of my parents or even myself before I came here." He turned to Ginny, a small smirk entering his face. "You know I rode a broom before I came here?" Her face was blank, wondering what this conversation had to do with any of the many things they needed to discuss. "Sirius bought me one for my first birthday."

"That's wonderful, Harry." Her voice was comforting, and sounded even slightly concerned.

Harry nodded before continuing. "I saw a picture when I went into Professor Snape's memories." It was probably the first time he had used the word 'professor' before the name outside his classroom. "He kept it because of my mom." He averted his eyes back to the plaque in the case, and she let hers follow. "Dumbledore was right all along: love really is a very powerful thing."

Ginny's eyes fell back on Harry, who remained fixated on the plaque. "Harry, I—"

"I needed to go." At that, Ginny fell silent. The truth of that night was coming out. "I was the last horcrux." A look of shock took over Ginny's face. "I needed to die before Voldemort could be killed."

"But then why would he have—"

"Voldemort didn't know. It was an accident." Ginny stood in silence, trying to understand all that Harry was telling her. He finally turned to face her once again. "I saw you while I was walking into the woods." She looked up at him, surprised. "I wanted to tell you I was there. But if I had started talking to you, I—I wouldn't have been able to go through with it."

Her eyes were wet with tears now, and Harry was forced to look away. "How did—" her voice was soft and shaking. "You got away alive."

Harry shook his head softly, scared to even glance at the horror-struck face he knew Ginny now had on. "I did die—sort of." The story sounded even more confusing now that he was explaining it out loud. "Dumbledore had everything planned since before I even came to Hogwarts. After I, well, after Voldemort attacked me, I passed out. I was at Kings' Cross talking to Professor Dumbledore.

"In fourth year, after the portkey took Cedric and me to the graveyard, Wormtail made a potion to make Voldemort live again. They needed my blood. And as is turns out, that saved my life. I couldn't die while my blood—my mother's blood—was running through Voldemort's veins."

"So," her voice sounded calmer now, and Harry allowed himself to look at her again. Her eyes had dried, but her face was still red with many different emotions. "Voldemort couldn't die until you did, and you couldn't die until he died?" Harry nodded, knowing that it was almost impossible to understand. "So how is Voldemort dead now?"

"Because I went into the forest with every intention of dying. It allowed the horcrux in me to be destroyed, while I lived because I could not be killed."

They stood in silence for a few moments, Harry waiting for everything he had just explained to sink in for Ginny. She finally turned to him and pushed a few loose hairs away from his forehead and ran her hand slowly through his hair. "Well I'm glad it worked out the way it did."

He stared deep into her eyes, noticing the true sincerity that filled them. He stroked her cheek as he spoke, "I just wish I could have been faster—lost fewer lives."

"You did so much more than anybody could have asked of you."

He took a breath. "When Bellatrix almost hit you," Harry's hand fell behind Ginny's ear to her hairline, and he stared deep into her eyes. "I forgot about Voldemort. For a moment, he didn't matter. The only people in the room were you, Bellatrix and me. I was ready to kill her."

A small grin entered Ginny's face. "And then my mum got there first." The grin quickly left, though, and her eyes fell to the floor. "You should have stayed with Voldemort. I'm not worth—"

He quickly placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head until she was looking into his eyes again. "You're wrong. I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you." He let a smile cross over his lips as his next words came to mind. "After all, you never really finished giving me my birthday present."

A laugh escaped her lips and she rolled her eyes. "Harry…" she pushed him playfully, but he caught her head mid-push, and pulled her toward his lips. Ginny's arms slowly made their way around Harry's neck, and his fell to her lower back and they fell passionately into the kiss.

"_Merlin's beard!_" Ginny broke away from Harry and spun around at the sound of her brother's voice, but Harry kept his arms around her waist, holding her close to him. Ron and Hermione must have walked up while they were in the midst of their embrace, and Ron did not look happy. "What the _bloody hell_ is going on here?"

"The war's over, Ron. There's no reason we can't—"

"She's my sister!"

"You were fine with it last year."

"I was fine with a kiss. But that looked like it was a little more than snogging—"

"Oh, come off it, Ron." At that, Ginny turned to Harry and pulled his head toward hers, purposely putting as much passion as she could muster into the gesture.

"_Ginerva Molly Weasley!_ What do you think you are—"

"Come on, Ron." Hermione grabbed his hand and tried to pull him away, but he would not budge.

"We can't leave them alone. What if they—"

"They can take care of themselves." She placed herself close to his face, using the most seductive voice and mannerisms she felt even slightly comfortable with. "Just come with me." Ron immediately flushed to a deep red color and obeyed. Ginny turned away from Harry just in time to catch Hermione send a wink her way as she led Ron down another corridor.

Once the others had disappeared, Ginny turned to Harry again. "Come on." She grabbed his hand and started running down a corridor in the opposite direction of where Ron and Hermione had just gone. Harry was struggling to keep up with her.

Harry glanced around as they ran through the school. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see." Some corridors seemed completely tidy, and others had entire walls collapsed and nothing in place. Ginny finally stopped running at the end of a stone walkway they had gone through so many times before.

Harry stared at the large, open area in front of him, breathing in the air surrounding him. "I think this is what I missed the most this year."

"You mean you didn't have time to stop and play quidditch while you were hunting down horcruxes? That's a shock." Harry shook his head and laughed at her attempt at sarcastic humor. "Well, then I guess you're overdue. You better start now."

He looked confused. "What do you mean? There are no—"

"I'll be the snitch, and you don't need your broom." With that, she took off running, waiting for Harry to seek her out and capture her.

He gave her a long head start before charging after her. Ginny ran in random circles around the field, quickly changing directions every time Harry came close to grabbing her arm or waist. He even dove for her leg once, but she was able to jump away just in time. He was catching up to her for the seventh time, reading for her arm when, she changed direction again, but he anticipated it and guessed correctly. As she turned right, he swung his arm out, catching her around the waist. She fell to the ground and Harry fell on top of her, both in pain from the laughter escaping their bodies.

They lay on the ground laughing for several moments, simply enjoying each other's company. Harry was the first to stop. "I kept checking the map to see you were okay."

Ginny's laughter immediately subsided at the sound of his serious tone. A small grin made its way to her lips. "I never stopped thinking about you, either."

"So does this mean we're—" Ginny placed her thin finger over his lips, stopping him mid-question.

"Do you even have to ask?" She pulled his head toward the ground and pressed their lips together as his hands fell, finding their place between her back and the grass beneath her.


End file.
